KOLDER
The children's art program has been a fixed and substantial part of the festival program of Into The Great Wide Open since its first year. It offers activities and workshops for children aged 0 to 14 years.
Nonsense 2025: The Worthless Shopping Center
At the Worthless Shopping Center, everything revolves around value. Or rather: the relativity of value. What seemed like waste today may suddenly turn into a treasure tomorrow. And what looks worthless at first glance turns out to be full of possibilities. At the Worthless Shopping Center, children are challenged to look differently: at objects, at money, and at what we find important. The Worthless Shopping Center is a living laboratory for imagination. Ten years ago, the Worthless Store emerged as an art project at Into The Great Wide Open. It has since grown into a vibrant mini-world where more than 100,000 worthless objects have been given a new life. From homemade perfumes to worn forks and forgotten gadgets. Everything finds a place here.
Visitors can immerse themselves in a unique shopping experience. Step into the Worthless Jeweler, browse in the Worthless Museum, enjoy a crappy meal at the Worthless Snack Bar, or relax in the Worthless Spa. Get your items appraised at the Worthless Bank (the more worthless, the better) or assemble your own product in one of the workshops. And check out at our self-scan register. Not in euros, but in imagination, timing, and courage. At the same time, young visitors are part of a larger system, ITGW'OLL STREET. As Value Transporters, they become part of the Value Exchange of the Shopping Center, where the value fluctuates continuously based on context, choices, and timing.
Central to the program is experiencing, marveling, discovering, imagining, researching, experimenting, creating, and playing in the nature of Vlieland. There is ample space for experiential projects where the child can literally become part of a larger 'story': running a professional restaurant at Wietse's Pizza or being responsible for the well-being of a large naughty plush bunny that makes the island a bit unsafe at Stout Konijn. However, artistic creation, construction, and project initiatives are also an important component, where different art disciplines connect with each other and special materials are utilized. A constant factor in all projects is the relationship they establish with the immediate environment: the island of Vlieland and the festival itself.
In the composition of the annual program, collaboration takes place with creatives and (visual) artists who specialize or want to further develop in carrying out innovative children's art projects on location. When selecting the projects, attention is paid to strong design combined with a practical execution that aligns with the setting of the festival and the outdoor location.
